I met Matthew last spring when I received a phone call from his mom saying that she was looking for singing lessons for her son because he liked to sing.  The minute I heard Matthew sing, I knew he was gifted with a beautiful voice.  He wanted to audition for KIDStage's 2014 summer production of Tarzan. After hearing him sing, I knew he had a great chance of being considered for the role of Young Tarzan.  We picked a fabulous song for him to audition with and he ended up getting the role. His role as Young Tarzan made way for larger auditions at Village Theatre and 5th Avenue.  He was invited to sing at a voice seminar and was noticed by a representative of the Seattle Opera. 

Seattle Opera wanted Matthew to audition for the role of the Shepherd Boy in their upcoming production of Tosca. Matthew and I worked together for a little over a month to prepare for the role. We worked on breath support, open vowels, and the Italian language.  Opera style singing is a little different than Musical Theatre, so we had to make some adjustments to make him sound like a classical singer.  His hard work paid off and out of the four children that auditioned, Matthew was chosen for the role!

 I saw Tosca on closing night and it was so amazing watching Matthew perform with the chorus on stage and his solo was angelic. The most amazing part for me was watching him come out for the curtain call and bowing with all of the leads, opera singers all over the world!  I tried to imagine what the view looked like from where he was standing for his bows....all those people!  When I asked him what it was like to come out for bows, he exclaimed, "There are so many people! I think tonight was a full house too!"  I am so proud of this 5th grader, he's accomplished so much already!  

I can't believe its already 2015!  Last year was a great year and the studio continues to remain at 50 students. Many of my students performed in musicals and plays, sang for assemblies, and sang the National Anthem for school events.  I am very proud of the growth I've seen in each student. 

My goal this year is to share the successes of my students on this blog. Here are two videos of some of my students that I've seen great growth in:

Juliana is a 2nd grader and has been taking piano with me for a year. Check out Juliana's form - I love her hand positioning and posture! Great job, Juliana!

Sophia is an 8th grader who started taking piano with me in April.  I have been focusing on note reading for my piano students and encouraged her to learn "If I Ain't Got You " as written. It's a very challenging piece, and she did a great job with it!

The studio is up to about 50 students!  We had about 20 students participate in the Spring Sharing on March 15th, which was held at the Hammond Ashley Violin Center in Issaquah, WA.  The recital was split into two seatings and was a great success.  This was the first time that many of these musicians had ever played piano or sang a solo in public, so I felt very privileged to be a part of their experience! I am incredibly proud of this young group of performers and look forward being a part of their growth as musicians and performers! Thank you to the families that participated and we hope to see the rest of you at the next recital! 

KIDStage classes and voice/piano lessons are back in session and it feels great to be back!  I'm very excited about my KIDStage classes this quarter. My classes will be focusing on Newsies, Hairspray, and 13.  The music is really fun and I'm having a great time planning and listening to the music.  I just bought the books for the shows and they should be arriving any day now.  One of my favorite things to do is just sit and play through musicals. There are some great solo pieces too that I can use for my private voice students.  

Today is the first day of rehearsal for Seattle Musical Theatre's 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee! Six kids face off in the battle of their lives at Putnam County's spelling bee contest. I will be playing Marcy Park, the over-achieving 12-year old Korean girl who excels at sports, school, music, just about everything...and only gets 4 hours of sleep a night.  The show runs for the entire month February.  

I get to teach kids and be a kid for the first two months of 2014. It will be really hard work, but lots of fun!

The studio went from 18 students in the beginning of this month to 33 students!  I would like to say that all of this growth was my doing, but one of our piano/voice teachers had to leave Kaleidoscope and I offered to take over one of her teaching days, so a number of her students will be taking from me now. However, I did meet with all of them first....so they had a choice to switch to lessons with me!  

I've been cast in two shows! Balagan Theatre's production of Jerry Springer the Opera at The Moore Theatre in January and Seattle Musical Theatre's production of 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee in February.  Unfortunately, I will not be able to be a part of Jerry Springer the Opera because of my busy teaching schedule, but I am looking forward to playing Marcy Park in Spelling Bee!  

KIDstage classes are going great. Its the end of the fall session and my desk is a complete mess from trying to plan all off the sharings for my 7 classes...if I knew how to use emoticons on this website, I would place the one that looks dazed and confused right here.  It's been fun trying to come up with last minute songs to fill in gaps and also assigning solos in a fair manner.  KIDStage Everett & Issaquah have both asked me to return for Winter & Spring session, but I've decided to only do the Institute classes on Wed & Sat since the studio has grown so much and I will be in rehearsals for a show.  I love being a part of KIDStage and I will definitely miss the kids. I love all of them from ages 7-18...even the misbehaving ones!   

I have been so incredibly blessed in the past month.  My studio has grown tremendously, I'm finally getting cast in shows again, and I'm getting offers for teaching positions even outside of KIDStage. It's been a long time in the making and months of working every single day without a day off. I want to take up every offer I get and be a part of everything, but with each opportunity that comes along, I decide whether it will benefit the wellbeing and future of the studio and the students and parents who have put their trust in me to nurture their child's musical journey. I will admit that it hurts making the transition from performer to teacher sometimes, but in the end nothing is more rewarding that teaching. Even in stressful times and at the end of a long teaching day, I feel so thankful that I get to do what I love for a living - teaching, music, working with kids, being my own boss. I feel like I am finally doing what I've been called to do. Happy  Thanksgiving!

I thought I would share my studio spaces with you!

The top two are located at Kaleidoscope School of Music in Issaquah. Kaleidoscope is a great place to teach, there is a lot of energy  and Charles McCrone, School Director, takes very good care of the spaces and marketing. It's great to see all the different students walk in and out with their instruments. 



Even though the majority of my work is on the Eastside, I have been very reluctant to move  because my home in Leschi is so beautiful - see bottom picture! The high ceilings allow for great acoustics for vocalists. The lighting is bright and look at that view...Wow!  You can see downtown Bellevue across the water, I-90 bridge, and Mt.Rainier on a clear day. All it needs is a baby grand piano!

Inquire about private voice and piano lessons today!  Email me at lessons@melismaticstudios.com

September is turning out to be a great month.  The studio grew so quickly that I ended up renting space on Thursdays earlier than anticipated. Melismatic is currently at 14 students and studio slots are nearly full at Kaleidoscope. If I could rent more space I would, but there isn't space left to rent at Kaleidoscope! I'm having to turn away great prospects due to availability, which I hate doing.  I do have one opening left on Thursdays at 6:45pm, if anyone is interested...

Village Theatre Institute classes have begun, and I am having a blast with those.  I have one group in Everett of eight 8-10th grade ladies, so we will work on women ensemble pieces from Thoroughly Modern Millie, Legally Blonde, and Godspell.  They also want to work on solo numbers from Grease, Jekyll & Hyde, Next to Normal, Catch Me if You Can, Wicked, to name a few.  Its going to be so much fun, and I'm even more excited that I'll get to share some of these solo pieces with my private students.  

I'm off to NYC for a quick visit this weekend before fall session classes begin at KIDStage.  I'm excited to have brunch with the ladies, dinner with old coworkers, and take in some Broadway shows.  There's such a great energy to NYC, and I'm looking forward to just walking around and taking it all in. I figure since I am teaching so many musical theatre classes this fall and my studio consists of kids, it is only fitting that I see Matilda! It's going to be a great trip :)

I found the perfect studio space near Village Theatre at Kaleidoscope School of Music, just a few doors down!  I will be teaching on Fridays, but it looks like I will be adding Thursdays in October because my Friday teaching schedule is practically full already! I am very excited to get going with KIDStage courses and private lessons next week.  Sept is off to a great start!

This summer, I had the opportunity to be a music director for Village Theatre's KIDStage program.  I worked with a different group of kids each week in all grades, ranging from Grades 1st -12th.  I had a great time and now Village Theatre has employed me as a vocal teacher for their Institute program, an audition only program for grades 6-12th and various other classes. I received 6 inquiries after my last class regarding voice lessons, so I figured it was time I did something about it and am currently negotiating space very close to Village.  Everything seems to be falling into place! Village Theatre has been very good to me, and I am so happy that I can be part of their KIDStage program for the year. Here's to a great year!  Looks like I may have to move to the Eastside soon... 

Here is a clip from my recital in 2007.  Andrew Lippa is one of my favorite broadway composers. You can hear his work in The Wild Party, You're A Goodman Charlie Brown, and Addams Family. He has a away of combining jazz, pop, and classic musical theater style and making it very singable.  His songs are challenging, yet somehow perfectly placed in the singer's voice.